Railway-signal



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

J. W. STEELE. RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 498,864. Patented June 6, 1893.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. J W STEELE RAILWAY SIGNAL.

Patented June 6, 1893.

(No Model) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

J. W. STEELE. RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 498,864. Patented June 6, 1893.

m: mums vsrtns cc. Pnorauwm WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

JAMES W. STEELE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RAlLWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,864, dated June 6,1893. Application filed October 5,1891. Serial No. 407,771. (No model.)

To all whdm it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. STEELE, of

- Chicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Signals, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, inwhich similar letters and numerals of reference in the different figuresdesignate like parts.

It is a recognized principle among railway builders, that a road-bedshould be so constructed as to permit the rails andties to yieldvertically more or less during the passage of a train. For obviouspractical reasons, this has been found to be essential ;and all roadbedsare constructed in accordance with this principle.

The primary object of my invention is to utilize the spring of the railsupon the roadbed, caused by the passage of a train, to actuate asemaphore. A secondary object is to provide means for limiting themovementof v the part attached to the rails and communieating with themechanism in direct and immediate connection with the semaphore, so as iIt is to prevent injury to said mechanism. my purpose thirdly, toprovide, in conjunction with the track connections, an automaticsemaphore operatingdevice which may be so sonstructed as to actuate asemaphore or sig- Y nal as the result of an indefinite number of varyingimpulses imparted to the rails by the I passage of a locomotive ortrain, and to enable said impulses to be continued indefinitely afterthe semaphore has been thrown or the signal displayed, without causinginjury mechanism.

and the setting of the signal thereat at danger, regardless of thedirection in which the train is movedg-all of which I accomplishsubstantially in the manner hereinafter more particularly described andclaimed.

In the drawings Figure 1, represents a transverse, sectionalview of arailway track showing a semaphore adjacent thereto, together with myimproved means for operating the same. Fig. 2, is an enlarged elevationof a modified form of a signal adapted for night and day use. Fig. 3, isan enlarged detail view showing the interior of the box or case upon thesemaphore post and the mechanism inclosed therein for operating thesemaphore. Fig. 4, is an enlarged sectional view thereof taken upon theline 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5, is an enlarged sectional view taken upon theline 5, Fig. 3, viewed from beneath, as indicated by the arrow thereshown. Fig. 6, is a sectional view in plan taken upon the line 6- Fig.3. Fig. 7, is a like view taken upon the line 7, Fig. 3. Fig. 8, is avertical sectional view in detail, taken upon the line 8-, Fig.3, viewedin the direction of the arrow there shown. Fig. 9, isatransversesectional view in plan taken upon the line 9, Fig. 3. Fig. 10, is a sideview in detail of the slotted plate which guides the arm intended toraise the releasingrod. Fig. 11, is a sectional plan view taken upon theline 11-, Fig. 3. Fig. 12, is a like view taken upon the line-12, Fig.3. Fig. 13 is a like view taken upon the line 13-, Fig. 3. Fig. 14: is aperspective view in detail of a portion of the releasing device, showingthe electric circuit in diagram. Fig. 15, is a diagram view showing themanner of making the electrical connections with a series of signals,and Fig. 16, is a transverse sectional View of a railway track showing adetail view of a modified feature of said invention. Referring to saiddrawings, a Fig. 1, indicates the rails of a railway track which aresupported upon ties in the usual manner.

Extending beneath the track and being by preference, rigidly attached tothe rails by means of suitable clamps b, is a bar b, preferably made ofsteel, the free end of which is connected by means of a rod 0, to alever e, pivotally mounted at 6 upon a post d. The lever e, is held in anormal position and under resilient tension, preferably by means of aspring e one end of which is attached to said lever as shown, and theother to a lug upon the post d. The alternate depression and rise of therails a serve to move the bar b,thereloy in turn actuating the lever e,for the purpose hereinafter stated. It is obvisoon as the lead isremoved.

creased or diminished by varying the point at which. the rod 0, isconnected therewith.

As too great a movement of the bar 19, is liable to injure thesemaphore-operating mechanism, or interfere with its proper action, Iprefer to limit the downward movement of the outer end of said bar byintroducing a stop thereunder, which is accomplished preferably asfollows: A bracket 61, is rigidly attached to the post d, to which isadjustably secured by means of lock-nuts f, a bolt f, which is passedloosely through the end of the bar I), and is provided with a head fadapted to engage with said bar. An equivalent therefor is indicated inFig. 16. Should the rails a, be depressed more than usual by'anexcessively heavy weight, the bar I), may spring sufliciently toconform" to such depression.-

.I'ournaled in suitable bearings at the top of the post (1" is apartially counter-poised semaphore arm g, which normally hangs in avertical: position. A crank-arm uponits axis enablesit to be raised to ahorizontal position as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, from whichit falls to its normal place when released,-as hereinafter stated. Thecrank g, is connected by meanso-f a pitman 9 to a verticalbar 71., whichis loosely secured in guides h h, and is provided with ratchet teeth72?, as clearlyshown in Fig. 1.- A gravity pawl 6 is loosely mountedupon the end of the lever e and is adjusted to engage with theratchetteeth upon the bar h. A- cord e attached to an arm 6 formed uponsaid pawl enables the latter to'be disengaged from the ratchet. Asecondary pawl 01 is loosely pivoted upon the postv d and arranged toengage with said ratchet. A spring ri in engagement with an arm uponsaid pawl, serves to hold the latter in normal engagement with saidratchet, while an arm 01, integral with the pawl (1 is arranged toproject beneath the arm 6 but at such a-distance therefrom that themovement of the pawls in riding over the ratchet teeth, will not causethe arm-e to be brought into contact with the arm (:1 Upon pulling thecord e ,,both of said arms are depressed and both pawls may be releasedfrom engagement with the ratchet.

The operation of said device is as follows: Assuming the respectiveparts to be in normal positions, as shown in Fig. 1, the passage of alocomotive or locomotive and train, de-

presses the rails a during the passage of each truck; but the resiliencyof the rails causes them to spring back to a normal position as The barI), is, therefore depressed with each movement of the rail, which causesthe lever e to vibrate; and with each upward movement of the pawl e thebar his lifted and held in place by the pawl (1 As the device isadjusted so that when the semaphore arm is raised to a horizontalposition the pawl 6 will act upon the lowermost tooth, a continuation ofthe vibrating impulses only causes the pawl e to slide a partial guidetherefor.

back and forth upon a smooth surface, and hence the semaphore armremains stationary as indicated in dotted lines, until both pawls arereleased, when said arm falls to its normal position.

In the construction which I have described,

the semaphore may be released by hand at the station, or it may bemechanically or electrically connected with a distant station andreleased at will; but I prefer to release it antomatically by thepassage of a train; and as I also prefer a construction adapted to dayand night use, in which the semaphore swings or turns horizontallyinstead of vertically, I recommend the construction shown in Figs. 2 to14 inclusive, which I will now describe.

Rigidly mounted upon the post dis a frame or case '0', Figs. 2, 3 and 4,within" which is inclosed the mechanism which is interposed between thebar I) and the semaphore,.and is in.- tended to operate the latter. Therod-c, Fig. 3, is intended to be connected directly tothe bar I), eitherby extending the samethereto, as shown in Fig. 1, or by a secondary rodor connection. Said rod 0, is attached directly to the lever e whichdifiers slightly from that shown in Fig. 1,- inthat it extends in onedirection only from the pivotal point, and the rod c'and lever e areheldnormally in given positions by means of a spiral spring 0', theexpansion of which is intended to lift said rod.

The bar h, shown in Fig. 1, is also represented in a modified form inFigs. 4,5, 6 and 7; said bar passing loosely through a slot in a plate1; at the top of the case 2, which forms The lower end of the bar 71. isadj ustably attached to-a rodj, Figs. 2 and 3, which is connected to anautomatic clutch and releasing mechanism as hereinafter described.-

Attached to the levere is a link Fig. 3, which is loosely attached to across-bar or lever 70, Figs. 3'and 4,which is, in turn, pivoted at itsmiddle, as indicated in 'dotted' lines in Fig. 3, and shown at W, Fig.4,-to the back of the case 1'. Upon the ends of the lever'kare pivotedpawls 70 k respectively, which are connected with each other by means ofa spiral spring 7c thereby serving to normally hold said pawls inengagement with ratchet teeth 71 72, upon opposite sides of the bar It.

Loosely pivoted to the bar h is a T shaped lever 1, Figs. 3, 4 and 7, totwo arms of which are pivoted straight bars m m, better-shown in Fig. 3,which are also pivoted to a crossbar m, loosely attached at its middleto the bar it. The bars m m and their connections, therefore, form adevice similar to a parallel ruler, the outer edges of which fall withinthe lines describing the outer edges of the bar h, when the pivotedcross-bars are in an oblique position as shown in Fig. 3; but when saidcross-bars are placed horizontally, or substantially so, the outer edgesof the bars 'm m are flush with or project slightly beyond the points ofthe ratchet-teeth h, thereby serving pawls 7.2 M from engaging with atpoints 0 0 upon opposite sides and at the 1 bottom and top respectively,of the frame a and the free ends of said arms, one projecting upwardlyand the other downwardly, are attached to spiral springs of 0 securedrespectively to opposite sides of the case, so as to draw said leverarms obliquely across said frame a in opposite directions. The pin Z isadapted to be engaged bysaid arms in turn, and to be moved laterallythereby in one or another direction according as it is at the bottom ortop of the frame; and the lateral movement of said pin controls that ofthe bars m. ,The bar 72. is raised from its normal position as shown inFig. 1, by the reciprocating action of the pawls 76 k Rigidly securedwithin theframe tie a secondary frame 19, Fig. 3, throughboresin whichthe rod j is loosely passed.

Pivoted in bearings upon the frame at one .side of the rodj is a disk q,upon which is secured a hardened-steel plate q through a bore in whichthe rod j is projected. A- spring g causes the plate to impinge upon therod 3' which is thereby clamped and prevented from sliding downwardly,although it is free to be moved in an opposite direction. A lever 0', isprovided at r and arranged when its free end is depressed, to bearagainst a setscrew 1 in the end of the clamping-plate q, and release thelatter from its engagement with the rod A spring 7*, serves normally toraise the lever 7', out of engagement with the set-screw g A rod 8,preferably weighted at itslower end, is secured loosely in bearings inthe.

frame, and is provided with a shoulder 8', adapted to engage with thelever arm 1". The upper portion of the rod 3 is projected through a borein a clamping-plate t, the axis of which is preferably in a plane atright an gles to that of the plate q. Upon the opposite side of itsaxisfrom the rod 5', is an armature t, which is in operative proximityto an electromagnet t the terminals i t of which i are connected with asource of electricity. A spring serves to hold the armature away fromthe magnet and to cause the plate 15' to clutch the rod 3, and preventit from falling down. a

An arm or cross-bar u, is attached; to the rod j, one end of which isadapted to engage normally with a shoulders upon therod 8, while theother is passed loosely into a vertical slot 11., formed in the plate 10The upper portion u ,o[ the slot is inclined backwardly (see Fig. 10) soas to throw the opposite end of the bar it out of engagement with theshoulder 3 when the rod j is raised toits full height,thus enabling therod 3 to fall, when released, as hereinafter stated.

Interposed in the circuit of the wire 15 is a metallic spring 159,intended to form a circuitmaker and breaker, and to press against ashoulder 25 (Figs. 3 and 11) for the purpose of closing the electriccircuit.

Collars j j, are attached to the rod j, be-

tween which is secured an arm h, for con-.

necting the rod j and bar It, with each other.

Between the lower collar j and the spring at, is inserted a disk i ofinsulating material, which is normallyin contact with said spring andserves to depress it and thus hold the circuit broken; but as soon asthe bar h, is lifted by the action of the ratchet mechanism, the spring25 is brought into contact with the shoulder tQ-thus closing the line ofthe electric circuit at that point; but as the circuit remains broken atthe next succeeding station, as hereinafter set forth, the magnet t isnot excited. i i

I will now describe thesemaphore mechanism which is actuated by thedevices above set forth, after which I will proceed to specify themanner in which thesignals are operated automatically from one stationto another in a block-system. A vertical shaft 1;, Figs.'2,

3, 5, 6 and 8, is loosely secured in bearings arranged within an uppercase 2' one of said bearings consisting of a bracket o rigidly attachedto said plate, while the other is formed in the plate itself. A sleeveo, is loosely attached to said shaft, between which and the bracket 0 isinterposed a collar o which. is rigidly secured to said shaft by meansof a pin as shown in Figs. 3, and 8. Projecting from thecollar n is arigid arm n to which is attached a curved plate o having depending lugsv at its respective ends through which is passed a rod '0 which rod alsopasses loosely through a bore inthe end of a radial arm 12. formed uponthe sleeve '0'. Buffing springs w w are interposed upon the rod obetween the lugs o and the arm Q1 A spiral flange 7J9, Figs. 3, 5, and 6is formed upon the sleeve 7; and adapted to engage with'friction rollersh 71, better shown in Fig. 6, and indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3,which are attached to a plate h secured rigidly to the bar h. U'pontheupper end of the shaft 1 is mounted a day and night signal consisting ofthe disks as, and lantern y,

manner. The raising of the bar It, and the consequent action of thefriction rollers upon the-spiral flange o serves to rotate the signalasstated, to indicate danger, whilethe descent of said bar reverses it. Toavoid breakage as a result of the too sudden movement of the signal, Iinterpose the buffing springs to, which yield in both directions andrelieve the shock.

In order the more clearlyto illustrate its preferably Fig. 2, which iare adapted to rotate in a vertical plane to r the extent of ninetydegrees, in the usual IIO working, I have shown aperspective view of aportion of the releasing devicein Fig. 14, withitselectricalconnections, while in Fig. 15, a diagram is shown indicating a series ofstations, and illustrating the manner in which the electric circuits-arerun. Inorderto prevent confusion, I have showntwo line wires t 16 thoughit is obvious that. in. lieuat one of them a ground connection may-bemade and in actual practice it ismy purposetoemploy the. latter method.The springs t, at each station in the diagram, may'beassumed t'o be theequivalent of the spring so designated in the oth-erfigures. Ihavenumbered the stations from oneto four inclusive, and have shown abattery z in circuit ateach station. It will be observed that" theconnections with the wires 25 t are-reversed with respect to thepo'larity at each station. At station 1, the positive line is run to:thewi-re t and the negative to its companion, while at station 2, thereverse is true; and soon throughout the series,--the polaritiesalternating between the respective linewires, or what would be the same,and preferably in practice,-vi-z': alternating between the line andground respectively. It'should. be borne i'n mindth-at the circuit ateach station is ntormal-l y'open, as indicated in said diagram view.

Having thus described the various parts of invention I will now explaintheoperation-fi rst, of the mechanism of a single signal and finally ofthe. series as a whole. Upon the passage of a train as stated, the railsa' and bar 19 are depressed by each successivetruck-thereby producing aseries of reciprocating'movementsot the rod c;and"-as the lever e andratchetm-echanismare soad- 5 justed as to utilize the minimum movementot the rails, it'- is obvioust'hat a greater movement thereof will causethe pawls to pass over several teeth of the ratchet at. once-,and witheach reverse movement or recoil of the rail, the bar It will be liftedcorrespondingly. Hen-ceit is obvious that the track movement may vary-indegree and yet accomplish the same result. The donble'a'ctionof thepawls as arranged in Fig. 3, enables the bar It, tobe lifted with twicethe rapidity that it would be by the construction shown in Fig. 1. Asthe bar his lifted, the bar is clutched by the opposite pawl, and thusprevented from falling back. In the meantime the rod 8 is rai'sedbythearm u and clutched in like manner'bythe clutch t. Assoon as the rodj hasbegun to rise, the spring 25 is released, and pressing. against the armt closes that portion of the normally open circuit; but the circn-it'asawhole, is still open by reason of the normal position of the circuitclosing spring 25 at the next succeeding station. It will be seen thatthe arms of the part Z, which are connected with the bars m, m, are notat right angles but oblique to the part in which the pin Z is inserted,and hence, when the pin- 1 is in the slot n, .at the right, as shown,the

, tion of the arm 0-.

bars are drawn in so as to expose the ratchet teeth k but as soon as thepin Z, is thrown into the slot 11/, the bars on are projected beyond theends ot the, ratchet teeth, and-hence the pawls 76 16 are disengagedtherefrom;- thus leaving the bar it free to fall as soon as the clutchq, is released. This action of the barsm takes place as soon as thebarit reaches the upward limit of its movement, when the pin Z" is thrownover tothe slot at by the aclhe elevation of the bar 71/, serves torevolve the shaft wand hence sets the signal at. danger. Uponthe-arrival of the train at the next succee'd-i-ngstation the signal ismechanically set at danger in like manner; but indoi-ng so;.the-circui tclosing spring 25", at said second station is released at the verybeginning o-fi the movement, thereby" completing the electric circuitbetween that and the preceding station.

soon as this is accomplished the magnets 15 at both stations are excitedand the armature t is drawn thereto; thereby releasing-the clutch t atthe first station, (before it is possible to place the signal at thesecond station fully at danger,) when the rod s,fal'ls until theshoulder 3" strikes the lever arm 1', which, acting upon the pivotedplate or clutch q,.til-ts it and in turn releases the rod j-which fallsto its normal position", reverses the semaphore and opens the electriccircuit by again dopressing the spring 25 The secondary signal is thenset to dang-er by'the continued action of the tra-i-n,wl 1=ich-. passeson to the third station, when the action" described isrepeated and thesignal at the second station is released, while the third issettodangergand so on throughout the series;

It will be: observed that notripping mechanism upon the track orelsewhere is required to close the electric circuit, and that no sigmatis thrown to dia-n-ger" by electric action. The throwingof the signalis, in each; case, entirely mechanical; while, as: an incident thereto,th'e'electricdevice is merely-employed -to release the'set signal behindit;

This releasing" mechanism maybe madevery delicate, and yet, by reason ofthe peculiar. construction of the clutches, the corresponding leveragein connection therewith and the impositive and certain, while the weightwhich may be sustained and released by the clutch mechanism maybe variedindefinitely without rendering the action of the machine uncertain or inany way influencing the battery power required to edect the initialrelease.

' A further advantage of my improved system is that by it I am not onlyenabledto dis-- pense with relays and other complicated electricaldevices, but require only a minimum battery force to actuate my-release.Moreover, by my system, a factor of safety is provided in that twobatteries instead of one, are al- Ways in the circuit at the time it isclosed;

and as these batteries are constantly changpact or blow off the firstrod to release the clutch upon the second, the actiorrisrendered ing asthe circuits are changed, the chances are always in favor of successfulaction. As

an illustration of this statement, assuming a tion;-and this regardlessof the direction in which the train is moving.

From actual experience I have found that the variation in the extent ofthe depression of the rails is immaterial, as the action of the machineis the same whether this movement be great or small; but I prefer tolimit the movement of the end of the track-bar in the manner stated, orin some equivalent Way, to prevent injuryto the mechanism. This featureis especially desirable upon what is commonly known as a dirtroad-bed,or one in which but little or no ballast is employed. Saidsemaphore actuating mechanism may be placed horizontally if desired byemploying springs to throw the rods in the releasing mechanism to normalpositions,-in which case the manner of connecting the reciproeating barwith the semaphore, would, of

course be modified; but I prefer the arrangement as shown.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. The combination with arailway track of a reciprocating rod mounted upon a stationary support,a horizontal bar connected with the track and said reciprocating rodrespectively, a spring for sustaining said rod in a normal position, alongitudinally movable bar having a series of ratchet teeth thereon, alever attached to said reciprocating rod, a cross-bar pivoted to theframe and having one end loosely connected with said lever, pawls uponsaid cross-bar arranged to engage said ratchet teeth, a clutch mechanismfor grasping and holding said longitudinally movable bar When in anabnormal position, means for disengaging said pawls when said bar ismoved abnormally to its full limit, a semaphore in operative connectionwith said longitudinally movable bar, an electro-magnet having itsarmature in operative connection with said clutch, a source ofelectricity in normal open circuit with said magnet, and means forclosing said circuit, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination with a railway track and intermediate positiveconnections, of two or more semaphores or signals, means as specifiedfor mechanically-and consecutively setting said signals to danger,automatic clutches in connectioirwith said signals for holding the samein abnormal positions respectively, tripping or releasing devices forreleasing said clutches, electro-magnets having their armatures inoperative connection with said clutches, electrical connections betweensaid magnets, a source of electricity, and a normally opencircuit-making and breaking device at each of said stations, whereby themechanical setting to danger of a secondary signal by thepassage ofatrain,may enable the electric circuit to be automatically closedbetween the two signals and actuate the electric releasing mechanism ofthe preceding signal, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination with a railway track of a plurality of signals,means, as described, for mechanically setting them to danger, anelectrical releasing device at each station, sepa rate sources ofelectricity corresponding in number to the number of the stations,a'circuit closing device'at each station, means for holding the sameopen while the signal is in its normal position, and electricalconnections, the polarities of which are alternated in consecutiveorder, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination withaseries of railway signals and means forautomatically setting the same by thepassage of a train, of a likeseries of normally open circuit-closers, a like series of batteries, thepolarities of which are alternated in consecutive order, and a likeseries of electro-magnets in electric circuit, having their armaturesinoperative connection with releasing devices, said circuit closingdevices being self acting, and arranged to be released simultaneouslywiththe setting of the signal, substantially as shown and. described.

5. The combination with a railway track of a series of mechanicallyactuated signals, a series of mechanical clutches for retaining the samein an abnormal position when mechanically set, a series of electricalreleasing devices in operative connection respectively with saidclutches, a series of batteries, the polarities of which arealternatelyreversed with respect to the circuit connections thereof, anda series of automatic circuit closers in operative connection with thesemaphore actuating mechanism, whereby said circuit closers may bepermitted to act consecutively, and the mechanical setting of a givensignal by the passage of a train may serve to release the preceding onein whichever direction the train is caused to move, substantially asshown and described. V

6. The combination with the rails of a railway track and a signal ofabar arrangedhori- 'zontally beneath said rails and extending laterallyfrom the track, said. bar being rigidly attached to each of said rails,means for actuating said signal by a series of impulses, and means forconnecting said signal operating mechanism with the projecting end ofsaid bar, substantially as shown and described.

7. The combination in a semaphoreoperating device, of a leverinoperative connection with the railway track, movable pawls connectedwith said lever, a sliding bar having ratchet-teeth thereon foractuating the semaphore, means for causing said pawls to engage withsaid ratchet teeth, parallel bars connected with said sliding bar andmeans for moving said bars laterally with each upward and downwardmovement of said sliding bar, whereby said pawls may be permitted to orprevented from eifecting an engagement with said ratchet-teeth,substantially as shown and described.

8. The combination with the bar h, having a double ratchet thereon, ofthe bars m m, pivoted upon cross-bars as described, pawls 10 k means foractuating the same, and means for obliquely tilting the cross-bars uponwhich said bars m m are pivoted, substantially as set forth.

9.. The combination with the ratchet-toothed bar It, and the pawls 707a, of the bars at m pivoted upon cross-bars which are in turn pivotedto the bar It, lever Z, pin Z, a stationary frame having slots or guidesan, therein, pivoted arms 0 0', and springs 0 0 substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination of the sliding rodh, means for reciprocating thesame, a semaphore pivotally mounted upon a vertical axis, arm 1: rigidlyattached to the pivotal shaft, a curved plate if having spring buffersthereon, sleeve 0' having a rigid arm 22 in operative connection withsaid buffers and a spiral flange Q79 arranged to engage with frictionrollers upon the bar h, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification, in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses, this 29th dayof September, 1891.

JAMES W. STEELE. Witnesses:

D. H. FLETCHER, A. L. FLETCHER.

